


Bots on Promethea

by ThatPeskyAloe



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: AU, Androids, Banter, Grouse/Sparrow eventually, Moving In Together, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Starting Over
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26238355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatPeskyAloe/pseuds/ThatPeskyAloe
Summary: After the events of BL3, Sparrow and Grouse come to the realisation that Nekrodefayo doesn't really need a steward- the planet will manage just fine on it's own with Maliwan gone. With that in mind the two bots decide to honour Typhons wishes for them to have fun and enjoy life, and head out to start a new life on Promethea.
Kudos: 2





	Bots on Promethea

**Author's Note:**

> Might be worth noting that the bots are more android-ish/human looking in this au, and this is about how I imagine them looking:
> 
> https://aloetech.tumblr.com/post/627569360611983361

Grouse had been told to experience joy. Typhon had suggested in his last message that they play games, dance, take a trip. And with the few games sparrow knew wearing thin and dancing done, it seemed about time to take that trip, now that things had settled down for the universe (for the time being).

They'd taken that trip to Promethea. Just a couple of weeks there, they had decided. Seeing the sights now that the city was mostly rebuilt was, Grouse would admit, a good experience even if Maliwan was still pestering the Atlas HQ. He might even call it fun, even including being held up by Maliwan grunts in the street (though that might have been just because it was an excuse to fight them). Though the trip mostly consisted of Sparrow dragging him around the city to see as much as possible every day, it wasn't unenjoyable, even if Grouse would have maybe preferred to take his time in exploring the city; Sparrow's energy was infectious- it was hard not to find some joy in the experience when the bot next to him was so excited all the time. He'd been dragged by the hand all over the city to all kinds of places, and Sparrow seemed to mention at every opportunity that living on Promethea would be "amazing" and "super cool", and with that amount of hinting it was obvious to Grouse that he'd love to live there. 

_"Wouldn't it just be amazing to live here?" Sparrow had said, leaning out of the hotel window to look down the street. "Just look at this place! All the people, the pretty lights, it's just way too cool!"_

_"Stop leaning out the window like that." Grouse had said, pulling him backward by the back of his shirt, earning little but an annoyed whine. "You'll fall."_

Who could blame him for thinking like that? A bot like Sparrow would obviously adore a place like Promethea, with it's modernity and life. Grouse would admit that while they had initially decided on being stewards of Nekrodefayo, the planet wasn't one that particularly needed that- with Maliwan pulled back from its surface, the planet was self sustaining and quite alright on its own. 

It had taken some time to decide on what direction to take. He'd put a lot of thought into it, balancing what Typhon would have wanted with what would make him and Sparrow happy. In the end, he'd decided to leave the final decision to Sparrow. 

They could remain on Nekrodefayo, or move to Promethea. 

Either way, he'd prepared a plan. Both long term strategy for survival on Nekrodefayo, and a plan for securing a job and place to live in the Meridian Metroplex. Connections with the Crimson Raiders and Typhon in turn meant they had connections to Atlas, so a job there would be easy enough to get, and they would go from there. If Sparrow chose that option. But Grouse was fairly sure he already knew the answer he'd give. 

He broached the subject one evening. Sparrow was, as usual, shirking his duties and tinkering around with his Echo instead of cleaning. When Grouse approached he hurriedly hid it, as if he wouldn't have seen from across the base anyway. 

"Heeey Grouse, what's up?"

"Something important is what's up." Grouse leant against the railing near where Sparrow was sitting. "I trust you'll pay attention."

He did indeed seem to have Sparrow's attention, as he leaned forward curiously. He nodded, surprisingly serious. Though maybe it wasn't so surprising- ever since Typhon left, they'd needed to rely on one another more than before, and had changed accordingly; as it turned out, being serious from time to time wasn't impossible for the usually silly bot, and in turn Grouse had learned to take a joke and occasionally turn a blind eye or even join in with Sparrow's antics.

"It's about our future. You said you'd like to live on Promethea, didn't you?"

"Mhm." Sparrow seemed more interested now if that were possible, looking almost excited- not in a loud way, but leaning forward with interested, wide eyes. 

"...well. Would you want to move there?"

There was an empty beat where Sparrow looked at him blankly. Then, over the course of a couple seconds, that blank look turned to one of pure excitement, with him leaping to his feet and a bit too close to Grouse.

"Wait, really? Really?" 

"Personal space, Sparrow."

"Oh, right." He took a step back, and then went right back to being overly excited. "But are you serious? Could we actually?"

"If we couldn't, why would I be asking you? I've already figured out a plan for whether we go or not. The decision is up to you."

Sparrow sat back down, but was still bouncing his leg an awful lot. A useless thing that just used up energy... But he'd overlook it for now. 

"Are you really okay with it either way? I mean, I know you've been taking care of this place for a while, and you said all of that 'being stewards of the planet' stuff back then too..."

"That was then, this is now. Nekrodefayo doesn't need us watching over it constantly- and we can come back once in a while, you know. We're not abandoning it for good."

Sparrow brought a hand up to his face in thought. "What about Tern?"

"I've already informed him we might be leaving. He said he'd be staying here for the time being. And that he'd air the place out for us every so often."

"You've really thought of everything, huh? I bet you've even got a place and job lined up too..."

"I have. Being prepared is my job, Sparrow."

It was a big decision, so obviously he didn't expect an immediate answer- Grouse expected him to take some time to decide for certain, deliberate, do some planning on his own. But then again, this was also Sparrow. The same impulsive bot that danced around the place and gor himself into scrapes all the time because he decided to goof off and paint a dick on the side of a drop ship or something, only to have to sit through Grouse's scolding later with a dumb, smug look on his face. 

In any case, he surprised him, as he usually did. 

"Okay! Let's go to Promethea! When do we leave? Should I start packing stuff up now, or-"

"Hang on, slow down. I may have plans, but I need you to agree to them."

Grouse slid into the seat next to him, fishing out his own Echo while Sparrow practically vibrated with excitement in the seat next to him. The remainder of the night was spent huddled around Grouse's Echo, looking through the detailed plans he'd made with Sparrow marvelling at the attention to detail. He'd found an apartment -Sparrow always said he wanted to live in a closet like the bots on Promethea, but an apartment was a logical step up- close to the Atlas HQ and a security job there for himself, as it suited him as a security bot. Sparrow picked from a few options Grouse laid out for him, eventually choosing to be a cleaner in the same building. 

"This way, I can see you any time!"

"No you won't, because you'll be _working_. You can't just goof off."

"I can goof off a little!"

"...A little, maybe. But you better not bother me."

"Fiiine..."

He'd been in contact with Rhys already: as helping them was framed as being a favour for the Crimson Raiders and the late Typhon it was easy enough to guarantee the jobs would be secure once the applications were sent- which of course, he'd made up ahead of time. As he'd made all the necessary plans it was only necessary to put them into motion, which was made slightly harder by Sparrow leaning over his shoulder, ooing and ahhing at every opportunity.

" _Must_ you look over my shoulder constantly?" 

"Well, yeah! I wanna know what you're doing!" Sparrow stood up straight anyway, giving Grouse a little space. "I'm excited!"

"I can tell." Grouse looked over his shoulder at the other bot, watching him rock back on his heels. "You could be packing right now instead of hovering around, you know. We can leave as soon as I'm done with all this..."

'All this' being the last preparations for making sure everything was secure and in place for when they got there. Sparrow hurried off to pack up anything he wanted to take with him- not that there was a whole lot in the base that would be of use on Nekrodefayo in the first place. He ran about the place looking for things while Grouse sat on his echo, finalising things for a few hours. He very obviously perked up when he heard the sound of him turning off the device, signalling he was obviously done with the preparations.

"Don't you have stuff to pack up, Grouse?" He asked.

"Nothing, really. I have anything important ready to move at all times, so I'm long since packed."

"Wow, you seriously are prepared for anything, huh?"

"I'll remind you again," Grouse went to retrieve the small bag he always had ready to go. "That is my job. Are you done?"

"Oh, right!" Sparrow turned away, seemingly off to search for some other random item. "Uh, just a couple more things..."

"You can't have _that_ much, surely. I'd expect this if we were human, but how much stuff can you possibly have when we live on this planet?"

"It's not that much! It's kinda just all over the place..."

Grouse sighed. If he'd done his job as a cleaner bot, he probably wouldn't have his things scattered around like this... He wouldn't be able to slack off like that at Atlas. He was surprised he wanted to take a cleaning post over something else honestly, but then again a proper building would be easier to clean than the base they lived in until now. Him actually cleaning... Now that was a novel thought. He'd believe it when he saw it. 

"I've got my stuff!" Sparrow appeared from around the corner. "So when do we go?"

"Just as soon as I send a message to Tern..." Grouse took out his Echo. A simple ' _we're leaving like discussed, take care of things here'_ would suffice. He began to explain the route. "We don't have a direct fast travel link to Promethea from here, but we have one to Sanctuary."

"And Sanctuary has one down to Promethea, right?"

"Yes. Why ask that when you know already? We did this same thing for that trip..."

"Just making sure..."

Grouse pocketed his Echo. "Anyway. We'll fast travel to Sanctuary, then to Promethea. I'll lead the way from there."

Sparrow was already halfway to the fast travel by the time he looked up from zipping up his pocket. He shook his head and followed after, with Sparrow already selecting Sanctuary.

"What part of me leading the way was so unclear?" He sighed.

"Sorry, I'm just way too excited!" Sparrow grinned and stepped back from the console to let Grouse do it- he was always better at this sort of thing anyway. "We're actually gonna live on Promethea, and it was so sudden! You can't blame me for being hyped y'know!"

"... You're right, I can't." He shook his head, making sure the link was established. He'd relent for now, and stepped back from the machine. "You first, then." 

Sparrow soon dissapeared before his eyes, soon to be reassembled aboard Sanctuary. Grouse, cast a sentimental glace back at the base over his shoulder, for just a moment before he pressed the button and left for Sanctuary.

It wasn't as if they would never return, but all the same, it felt odd to leave. He and Sparrow had spent almost their entire lives on Nekrodefayo after all, with the exception of the trip before- there would be challenges ahead, ones that Sparrow probably hadn't thought of. But he'd do what Typhon asked of him and take care of him as best he could. And something gave him the feeling Sparrow would do the same in turn.

He never would have imagined taking a trip like Typhon had suggested would have turned into leaving to live on another planet altogether. Starting a new life on Promethea with Sparrow...

Well, it would be interesting to say the least.

**Author's Note:**

> In which I write a whole au for the sake of slow burn Sparrow/Grouse


End file.
